Jozy Altidore set a new single-season career high Tuesday, scoring his 20th goal of the campaign in a Dutch Cup quarterfinal match marred by racist chanting from Den Bosch fans toward the U.S. national team striker.

Two Den Bosch players were ejected during the contest, which was suspended in the second half as fans persisted with the offensive cheering and began throwing snow and ice at the assistant referee. Video from the De Vliert stadium indicated that match officials also were considering halting play as fans abused Altidore toward the end of the first half, but the U.S. national team striker could be seen imploring them to let the game continue.

“What do you expect me to do? I’m not going to fight them,” Altidore told Eredivisie Live after the game. “They just have some issues and they just need some help. That’s all. You can only pray for them and hope they get better.

“I feel like I have an obligation as a football player to my club, to my family as well, to kind of not react to things like this and show the club stands for better than that I was raised better than that, to respond to such ridiculous behavior.”

AZ eventually won, 5-0, and clinched a berth in the semifinals, but Tuesday’s match will be remembered for the ugly scenes that occurred before and after Altidore lifted AZ to a four-goal advantage in the 39th minute. He drew, then converted, a penalty kick on a play that resulted in a red card to Den Bosch defender Jelle De Bock. But Altidore continued to be subjected to monkey noises made by a group of fans. The referee gave him the option to leave the field, but the 23-year-old refused.

"It's incredibly sad that this happens," AZ technical director and former U.S. national team midfielder Earnie Stewart told reporters at halftime. "The people at Den Bosch are ashamed of this. It's not only annoying for Jozy, but for Dutch football in general."

A Den Bosch official reportedly appealed to the fans to stop the racist chanting and said following the game, “I’m deeply hurt by these people. I’m ashamed of what just happened. I have no words for it.”

The hosts were reduced to nine men in the 51st minute, which then prompted the snowballs and suspension. Fans were told over the public address system that if they didn’t stop making “jungle noises” at that time the match would be abandoned. AZ scored a fifth after play resumed and Altidore earned the assist, setting up midfielder Adam Maher’s second goal of the evening.

Altidore chose to stick it out Tuesday, although he might not have had a choice. The sport’s authorities continue to decry racism but have made little tangible commitment to levying punishments that might serve as a deterrent, leaving players faced with having to perform in a toxic atmosphere or face the potential downside of abandoning the field in an official competition. Right now, the onus remains on the victims.

“It’s a bit disappointing,” Altidore said. “You would hope that we as humanity can grow from these type of times. But at the end of the day it’s still a lot of racism. All we can do now is try to educate ourselves, the young kids coming up, to be better than that. That’s all we can do.”

Altidore’s 20th goal surpassed the 19 he tallied in 2011-12, his first season with AZ. He has eight goals in his past six games. AZ will return to Eredivisie play on Saturday when it hosts Groningen.